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Top 10 Tech This Week [PICS]

Top 10 Tech This Week (3/3/2012)

1. Tron Lightcycle for Sale

We knew there was a Tron Lightcycle that was street legal, and there was even one for sale from Hammacher Schlemmer, but this one's different: it's created by the motorcycle designers at Parker Brothers Choppers.

Unlike that other lightcycle that was powered by a Suzuki four-stroke engine, this one is an electric bike powered by custom lithium ion batteries, donated to Charitybuzz by Evolve Motorcycles.

So now you can ride around in your scary-looking crotch rocket guilt-free, knowing that you contributed to a worthy cause. Current bid? $29,000.

2. ASUS Transformer Pad 300

There's no need to own a laptop and tablet when you have the Asus Transformer Pad 300. Similar to its Android-packing Eee Pad transformer brethren, the tablet is cheaper at $399, albeit made of plastic instead of aluminum.

Most intriguing is the horsepower under its hood. Based on Nvidia's quad-core Tegra 3 processor, it's quick and efficient. This is one handsome unit, but can it hold a candle to the upcoming shiny and new third iteration of the holy iPad?

3. 24-Hour Cupcake ATM

Only in L.A.: Satisfy those middle-of-the-night cupcake cravings with the world's first cupcake ATM. Its creator, Beverly Hills-based cupcake purveyor Sprinkles, calls it the "world's first cupcake automat."

We're digging the cupcake craze, where any time of day or night is a good time to partake of such delectable delights. We vote for Sprinkles to spread this goodness to all of its nationwide locations, of which there are seven.

4. Windows 8 Consumer Preview

Now you can get your own beta copy of Windows 8, free. More than 1 million people downloaded the Windows 8 Consumer Preview the first day. We've tried it here, and it's radically different and absolutely superb.

You can drag those tiles around however you please on its start screen, and good old Windows is underneath if you get frustrated. It takes a little getting used to, but its helpful and colorful panels give lots of information at a glance. For us, that's a good thing.

Even though it's a free beta test version, it's surprisingly stable and feature-rich already. Go ahead, try it yourself — it's easy to dual-boot your current operating system and this new one on the same machine.

4. Windows 8 Consumer Preview

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5. Samsung Flexible OLED Display

Flexible OLED displays are no longer the stuff of science fiction, with Samsung saying its insane-looking flexible screens are still on track for mass production this year.

More tantalizing news has an anonymous tipster saying Apple is negotiating with Samsung to make boatloads of the screens for an upcoming iPad. This is getting interesting.

6. Startram

If you want to get into orbit, lugging along tons of fuel is a necessity — but not if this wild scheme to build a vacuum tube that uses magnetic levitation (maglev) to sling a capsule into space becomes a reality.

StarTram would use magnets to push a spacecraft up to 20,000 miles an hour in such an 80-mile-long tube, catapulting it into space. Then, a slight correction with small rocket engines would place that vessel, carrying 35 tons of cargo, securely in Earth orbit.

The kind of acceleration needed to achieve such speeds will be far too great for humans to survive, but longer tubes are also on the drawing boards, which would allow humans to someday be catapulted into the wild blue yonder in the same fashion.

7. HTC One X

At the Mobile World Conference (MWC) this week, HTC rolled out some mighty pretty smartphones, and one of our favorites was the HTC One X. We got our hands on this ultra-thin and beautiful Android handset running Ice Cream Sandwich, and with its quad-core NVidia Tegra 3 processor on board, it was, according to Mashable's Stan Schroeder, "the fastest Android handset we've ever held in our hands."

Despite its big screen, Stan says it's incredibly light, and he likes its 4.7-inch display, saying it's not too big for a smartphone. It was one of Stan's favorite smartphones of the show. Don't miss his gallery and photos of this new phone, on its way in a slightly diminished factor to T-Mobile and Sprint (that version won't have the Tegra 3 processor yet).

8. British Super-Coaster

How fast is too fast? How many G-forces can you take until it's no fun anymore? The Swarm, a 62-mph roller coaster under construction at Thorpe Park in Surrey, UK, is so fast that testing dummies lost arms and legs in a trial run.

An Air Force test pilot called it "gut wrenching." Even so, it's set to take its first paying passengers on March 15. This sounds like a tremendous amount of fun, and I think we should all head over to the UK and try it out on day one. You go first.

10. Infiniti Emerg-E

This handsome Infiniti Emerg-e electric sports car is set for a March 6 unveiling. It works similarly to the Chevy Volt, with a battery-powered electric motor accompanied by a gasoline-fueled, range-extending engine.

Infiniti has been trying to keep this sexy conveyance a secret, but a handful of official images leaked this week, giving us a quick peek at this spiffy new electric supercar. When can we get one? Along with the dearth of specs, there's no info on availability yet either — it's a concept so far — but we're keeping our eyes on this one.

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It was a livelier tech week than we've seen in a long time. On the heels of the big smartphone and mobile tech convention in Barcelona, the tech world braced itself for a huge auto show in Geneva next week, leaking pics of cool cars like a sieve. We've sorted out the best of the techno-goodness, just for you.

In the meantime, rumors abound, and we have our ears to the ground. Find out the latest scuttlebutt, experience gadgetry from the present and future, and hold on for dear life as we bring you the latest edition of Top 10 Tech This Week.

Mashable
is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe.